Another Place to Belong
by KatBauer
Summary: There's a soft, timid knock, and when he opens the door to find her standing there, he feels as if the entire world has suddenly shifted on its axe and the floor has been swept from under his feet. [Part 4 of the All I've Ever Needed series]
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Title comes from the song "Wake Up With Me" by Gabrielle Aplin.

This is a prequel to my other story, **Heartbeat**. Because Ward escaping in canon kinda ruined this 'verse, so this is my way of fixing it.

* * *

><p>She shows up at his door three months after he last saw her.<p>

There's a soft, timid knock, and when he opens the door to find her standing there, he feels as if the entire world has suddenly shifted on its axe and the floor has been swept from under his feet.

"What are you doing here?"

"I've been looking for you," she says, and if she's taken aback by his slightly accusatory tone, she doesn't show it. Instead, she adds, "are you going to let me in?"

She looks up at him with big, pleading eyes that tug painfully at his heart and he caves in, stepping aside and letting her inside his apartment.

Skye slides the straps of her backpack off her shoulders and lets it fall to the floor with a thud as she takes in the reduced space.

The place is _tiny_. The kitchen and the small area that she assumes is supposed to be a dining room, are all compacted into one room, and there's a short, narrow corridor to the left that leads, no doubt, to the bedroom. The only room in the entire apartment.

"You didn't answer my question," Ward's voice pulls her out of her thoughts, and she watches him as he leans against the wall, arms folded across his chest as he studies her with a mask of indifference.

"I did," Skye points out. "I told you, I've been looking for you."

"Why?"

"Why do you think, Ward? You disappeared for _months_," she says. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to find you?"

"That was the point," he says gruffly.

Skye scoffs. "You could've at least let me know you were alive."

He unfolds his arms and takes a few steps forward until he's looming over her. Skye lifts her head to meet his gaze, tilting her chin up in open challenge while her eyes brim with stubborn determination.

"You shouldn't be here, Skye. Go back to your team."

"Not without you," she says, her words cutting through him like a knife. He staggers back a little, eyes wide, but Skye is relentless. "Come home with me."

"SHIELD's not my home."

"And this place is?"

"No," he says, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "But it's enough."

"I'm not going anywhere," Skye says firmly. "If you don't want me to stay with you, then I'll sleep in my car. I've done that before."

She grabs her backpack and turns to leave, but before she can get anywhere near the door, Ward seems to finally remember how to move and quickly blocks her way. She can see the conflict written all over his face, and how he's struggling with the decision of whether he should let her go or allow her to stay.

What he should do and what he so desperately _wants_.

"Ward?"

Wrinkles begin to form on his forehead as his frown deepens, and Skye has to fight the sudden urge to run her fingertips over the skin to smooth them out.

He doesn't say a single word, but holds his hand out and Skye obediently hands him her backpack, and when he starts walking towards the narrow corridor, she follows him in silence.

His room turns out to be surprisingly big for such a small apartment. There's a king sized bed, a worn out couch and an old TV perched on a dresser. The closet is next to the bed and there are also three shelves fixed to the wall with a few books on them.

Ward sets her backpack down on the bed, and gestures towards a door across the room. "Bathroom's over there," he says. "Are you hungry? I was about to make dinner."

"Sure."

He nods once and then wordlessly exits the room, leaving Skye alone to settle.

She rummages through her backpack and after grabbing a spare change of clothes, she locks herself in the bathroom and wastes no time getting undressed and stepping into the shower, sighing with relief when the scolding hot water finally hits her skin.

**xxx**

"That smells good."

Ward startles and spins around, almost dropping the pan he was holding in the process, along with its contents.

"Careful there," Skye says, and suddenly she's _right there_ next to him, and she's so close, he can smell her shampoo (_his_ shampoo, he corrects himself, swallowing hard) and it's enough to make him recoil as if her mere presence burned him.

Noticing his now slightly trembling hands, she gently takes the pan from him and carefully puts it back on the stove. "Sorry," she says softly. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"No, no. It's fine," he says, rubbing a hand over his face. "I'm just not used to-"

"Having company?"

"Yeah."

The silence that falls upon them is comfortable despite the initial awkwardness, and soon enough, Skye finds herself thinking that she could get used to things being like this. She sits down on one of the chairs, pulling her knees up to her chest, and rests her chin on them while her eyes follow Ward as he moves around the tiny kitchen.

"I'm sorry," she blurts out after a few minutes have passed, and her words are so unexpected that Ward's movements come to a sudden halt, the spoon he was using stilling in mid air.

"For what?" he asks, glancing over his shoulder at her.

"For not believing you," she replies, toying with the cuff of her sleeve. "About your brother. He's- Uh. He's not making things easy for us."

She doesn't say anything else after that, fully expecting an 'I told you so' that never comes. Instead, he turns around and offers her a plate of food.

"Is that why you're here?" he asks. "You want my help?"

"I wanted _to see you_," she says, pushing the food around the plate with a fork. She takes a deep breath and swallows down the sudden lump of emotion in her throat. "I didn't even know if you were hurt, or- Or _worse._"

"Skye, don't," he says, cutting her off before she can say anything else. He crouches down beside her chair so they're at eye level and tentatively places a hand on her thigh, and when she doesn't pull away from his touch, he gives it a reassuring squeeze. "I'm here, it's okay."

"I'm sorry," she says again, dropping the fork and turning to fully face him. "I should've found you sooner, I should've- I should've never let him do this to you."

He doesn't need to ask who 'him' is, he knows, and judging by the way Skye is pointedly avoiding looking at him, she also knows he's already figured it out.

Ward shakes his head and takes Skye's hand in his, standing up and pulling her up to her feet with him. He places a finger under her chin and tilts her head up, his eyes intently searching hers.

"You did what you had to do. I can understand that."

She holds his gaze for a moment and nods before sniffling softly and looking away. There really isn't anything else left to say, at least not tonight, and so Ward takes a step back, not wanting to overstep any boundaries, but his concerned eyes remain on her.

"It's been a really long day," Skye says. "Do you mind if I just-" she gestures towards his room, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

"No, of course, go ahead," he says. "Bed's yours, I'll take the couch."

Skye's lips quirk up in a faint smile. "It's your place, Ward," she says. "Don't let me kick you out of your own bed."

He chuckles and shakes his head as he begins to clear the table, seeing as neither of them is exactly in the mood to actually eat.

"Good night, Skye."

Once Skye has disappeared into his room, Ward takes his time doing the dishes and tidying up the place before turning off the lights and making his way to his room.

His eyes immediately land on Skye's sleeping form, curled up on one side of the bed, face half buried in the pillow and hands twitching slightly in her sleep. The covers are now all bunched up at her feet, and so he carefully tucks them back around her, fingertips ghosting over her warm cheek as he pushes her hair out of her face with tenderness.

He gives her one last longing look and with a deep, heavy sigh, he forces himself to tear his gaze away from her.

As he grabs a pillow and an extra blanket from the closet, and gets ready to spend the night on the couch, he can't help but wonder when did things go so horribly wrong between them.

He's fairly certain he knows the answer.


	2. Chapter 2

When Ward wakes up the following morning, the first thing he notices is that he's not sleeping in his bed, and that said bed is currently empty. He doesn't think much of it, until memories of last night come rushing back and he sits bolt upright, fear clawing at his insides when realization dawns on him.

He pulls the blanket off his body and stands up, pushing aside the sudden wave of nausea that hits him as he walks down the corridor, cold dread running down his spine.

And then he sees her.

She's in the kitchen, flipping something that looks suspiciously like a pancake while humming a tune he doesn't quite recognize. Relief washes over him and all he can do is stare, mesmerized, not entirely sure if he's awake or still dreaming.

"Morning," Skye says when she finally notices his presence.

He blinks at her, and swallows. "You- You're up early."

"I'm used to it," she says, and he doesn't bother reminding her how much she used to hate getting up early before.

_Before_.

He approaches her cautiously, almost afraid of scaring her away if he makes any sudden movements, and peers down at the contents of the pan. "Pancakes?"

"Breakfast of champions," she says grinning up at him, her smile warm and infectious, and he finds himself grinning back at her without even meaning to. "So what are our plans for today?"

"No plans," he says, trying not to read too much into her words. "I have work."

Skye raises her eyebrows at him and passes him a plate with a ridiculously huge pile of pancakes. "What do you do?"

"I volunteer at the local shelter most mornings," he answers, taking the plate and sitting down at the table. "And I work the night shift at a bar a few blocks from here."

"That's… interesting."

"What?"

"Nothing, I just- I thought you'd work in private security or something."

"That's not my life anymore."

Skye stays silent after that, be it because she's too busy eating her breakfast or because she has run out of things to say, Ward is not exactly sure which one.

"Mind if I tag along?"

He looks up at her, barely avoiding choking on his food. "Why?"

"I want to spend time with you," she says. "If that's okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Please?" she asks, and when her eyes finally meet his, he knows right then and there that he will never be able to deny her anything.

**xxx**

"So… This is where you work," Skye comments, resting her elbows on the counter and propping her chin up on her hand.

Her eyes wander around the dimly lit place, studying the faces of the few people sitting at the tables, and then watching as some others begin to gather around a small stage where a band is performing covers of songs from the '80s.

The place is rather small but not crowded, and it has a particularly friendly, cosy vibe for a downtown bar. The clients and the staff all seem to know eachother, and every once in a while, an explosion of laughter can be heard coming from the different groups of people.

It's definitely not the kind of place she would've expected to find Ward and yet, she can see why he would feel drawn to it.

"Something wrong?" he asks as he pours her a drink, interrupting her train of thought.

"No. Just not what I expected."

"And what did you expect?"

Skye toys with her drink, making the ice cubes swirl around inside the glass. "I don't know," she answers thoughtfully. "I'm still trying to figure you out."

His brow furrows deeply when she doesn't look up from her glass and instead seems to get lost in her thoughts again. He wants to ask her what's going through her mind, but then some of his regulars take a sit a few stools away from Skye, and Ward is busy for a good twenty minutes.

When he finally catches a break and goes back to check on her, she is still nursing her drink, fingers drumming on the counter following the rhythm of the music.

"Are you going to come back with me?" she asks.

Ward gives her an exasperated 'not now' look, one that Skye knows too well, but she doesn't back out. She raises an eyebrow, silently demanding an answer, and Ward sighs, defeated.

"I already told you, SHIELD's not my place. I don't belong there."

"And you belong here?" Skye questions with skepticism, waving a hand around. "You told me once you were a survivor. And I get it, _I do_. But I think it's time for you to stop surviving and start _living_."

"I am," he replies, grabbing a dishcloth and busying himself wiping the counter and deliberatedely avoiding her eyes. "That's what I'm doing."

"You're _hiding_, Ward." Skye puts down her glass, drink untouched, and slowly slides off the stool. "You never really left the shadows."

She makes a pause, waiting, but when it becomes clear that this time she won't get an answer, she shakes her head with sadness and, after giving him one last glance, she walks away and out of the bar.

**xxx**

When Ward comes back home later that night, he finds her sitting on the edge of his bed with her legs crossed and her backpack next to her, and his stomach drops when he realizes the reason why she's been waiting for him.

"You're leaving," he says quietly, not a question but a statement.

"I have to," Skye nods. "They need me back at the base."

She hands him a small device then, something that looks like a phone, and on the screen he can see a message with the SHIELD logo blinking in a rather dramatic shade of red.

"Does Coulson know where you are?"

"Kind of," she shrugs. "I didn't give him an exact location, but he knows why I'm here."

"I'm sorry," Ward murmurs, handing her back the phone-looking device.

"You could be less sorry and more helpful," Skye quips, the tiniest hint of a teasing smirk playing on her lips.

"Alright, I'll bite. Let's say I do go back with you, then what? Are you going to lock me in the basement again?"

Skye physically cringes at that, making him regret his choice of words almost instantly. He opens his mouth to apologize, but she cuts him off.

"No. You would get your own bunk this time."

Ward's eyes narrow suspiciously at her, clearly doubting the veracity of her words. "What's the catch? And be honest with me, Skye."

"There is no catch," Skye says firmly. "You'll have to wear a tracking bracelet, and you won't be allowed to leave the base alone again. Field missions are obviously out of the question, unless-"

"Unless what?"

"Unless you're willing to undergo several psychological and physical evaluations."

There's a long moment of silence as Ward considers this, the weight of her words slowly beginning to sink in.

"Do _you_ want me to go back?" he asks, and the hopefulness Skye can so easily hear in his voice makes answering his question all the more difficult.

She hesitates, biting her lip.

"This isn't about what I want, Ward," she says at last, meeting his eyes. "I came here to make you an offer. What happens next is up to you."

He searches her face, making Skye squirm under the sheer intensity of his gaze, until he seems to find whatever it was that he had been looking for.

And then he's pulling a large black duffel bag out of the closet and moving quickly around the room, throwing clothes haphazardly into the bag, turning the place upside down as he goes.

It's such an odd sight to see, so different from what Skye's used to expect from him, that all she can do is stare, wide eyed, as he finishes packing his rather scarce belongings in just a few minutes.

When he's done, he zips up his bag and places it next to Skye's backpack, rubbing a nervous hand along his jaw.

"Out of the shadows and into the light, right?" he says with a sheepish smile, trying to lighten up the mood, but the way his voice wavers betrays the fear and doubt his words try to hide.

Skye reaches over and takes his hand, lacing her fingers with his as she grins up at him. "Yeah, something like that."


End file.
